Thursday, 31 March 2016

THIS Tuesday’s
4-4 deadlock in the US Supreme Court shows that the liberals now have the inniative
over the conservatives in the US justice system.The result this week was brought about by the
death of Justice Antonin Scalia involved the case brought by the public –school
teachers who chose not to join unions and objected to paying for the unions’
collective bargaining activities of their behalf.

The ruling that
went in favour of the teachers’ union would have affected millions of
government workers and weakened the unions in the public sector.Thus the unions would have stood to lose
affiliation fees both from workers who opposed the stand the unions took and from
those who just wanted not to join a union while benefitting from the unions’
efforts on their behalf.

In 2014, the
court stopped just short of overruling a foundational 1977 decision and
declaring that government workers who choose not to join unions may not be
forced to pay fees in lieu of dues.

In the 1977
decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the Supreme Court made a
distinction between two kinds of compelled payments.Forcing non-members to pay for a union’s
political activities violated the First Amendment, the court said.Yet, it was constitutional, the court added,
to require non-members to help pay for the union’s collective bargaining
efforts to prevent ‘freeloading’ and ensure ‘labour peace’.

The result of
4-4 means that the decision remains open and could be returned to the court in
the near future.

Model resolution for labour movement
Grunwick40 – commemorating the Grunwick strike
We note:
* August 2016 is the 40th anniversary of the start of the 2 year strike at Grunwick film processing in North West London. This strike, mainly of Asian women, received unprecedented levels of support from the wider movement, in contrast to the attitude of the movement to previous strikes by black and immigrant workers. This solidarity was faced with considerable police violence against pickets, with the highest number of arrests (over 500) in the course of an industrial dispute since the General Strike of 1926. The law was used both to undermine the fight for union recognition and against postal workers who refused to handle crucial Grunwick mail.
* Local activists around the Willesden Green Town Team, together with Brent Trades Union Council, are planning to erect murals in commemoration of the strike close to the focal point of the strike in Dollis Hill.
* In conjunction with this, it is planned to organise a day event later in the year which will both commemorate the strike with activists from the time, and relate it to issues facing the movement today, such as organising the unorganised, migration, trade union law, etc.
We therefore:
Agree to give support to these events, both practically and financially by:
* Encouraging members to follow the planning of these events through the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/Grunwick40/info/?tab=page_info and signing up for the email group for news of events;
* Make a donation of £….. towards the costs of the mural and day event;
* Invite a speaker from Grunwick40 to a future meeting, possibly linking this to a showing of one of the films about the strike;
* Forward this to other parts of the movement.

The third in a continuing series by Chris Draper of, 'Lives of Northern Anarchists'.

Thanks to everyone who responded to the story of John Oldman and

feel free to add comments, info or criticism below.

by Chris Draper

IT was easy to spot a Victorian anarchist, he wore a black
cloak with a tall hat and carried a fizzing bomb shaped like a bowling ball but
William Hensby Chapman didn’t match the stereotype. He was better known for his
nut pies, rational dress, bees and chess but was no slouch in the anarchy
department. Chapman was a pioneer of William Morris’s 'Socialist League',
founder and host of Liverpool Socialist club, anarchist street agitator,
newspaper correspondent and recruiter of his son Edward to the cause. William
Hensby Chapman was an anarchist practitioner of the “New Life”, a fascinating
character who’s been ignored by historians ever since he disappeared in
mysterious circumstances.

Born in Norwich in 1833 William moved around the country
performing minor clerking and retail roles until in the 1860’s he settled down
in Warrington as a live-in draper’s assistant. As soon as he secured suitable
accommodation at 27 Golborough Street, Chapman was joined by his wife, Emily
and their three boys, James, Edward and William. James, the eldest (born 1863)
was employed as a clerk at a wireworks but died in the winter of 1884. This
tragedy prompted William to fulfil a couple of long-held aspirations, signing
up to Socialism and starting a food-reform business.

In 1886 William and his twenty-year-old second son, Edward
Crook Chapman, joined the newly established Socialist League (SL). Chapman
senior also donated a generous ten shillings to the SL newspaper, Commonweal,
printing fund. William also opened, “Chapman’s Vegetarian Restaurant” at 1
Stanley Street (on the corner with Dale Street), Liverpool. In May 1887 the
Vegetarian Society selected his restaurant as the venue for a 'banquet' to
follow their national conference which was addressed by wholemeal enthusiast 'Dr
T R Allinson'.

In an 1887 lecture William Chapman introduced his local
'Mutual Improvement Society' to 'Anarchism'. 'He affirmed that the government
of man by man was oppression; and defined the ideal of the Anarchist as
absolute liberty and economic equality and independence, which meant the
substitution in the place of political rivalry and class antagonism, of a
society based on voluntary co-operation…Owing to the novelty of the subject, Mr
Chapman was allowed to answer each question in rotation.'

Chapman’s anarchism wasn’t the narrow-minded insurrectionary
“Smash-the-State” sort but a constructive, holistic politics that promoted
positive alternatives as much as opposing exploitation and authority. He was a
regular contributor to, and living embodiment of, 'The Dietetic Reformer and
Vegetarian Messenger'. Chapman was a Vice-President of the national Vegetarian
Society, alongside pioneering animal-rights activist and libertarian, Henry
Salt, and an active Committee Member of his local Liverpool Vegetarian Society
(LVS).

Meetings of the LVS were held at the restaurant and from
time to time William gave lectures and cookery demonstrations to members and
guests. As the Liverpool Mercury reported in December 1894, 'the various dishes
were handed around and partaken of by the audience and in every instance were
most favourably received. The various recipes used were widely distributed on a
printed leaflet…showing people how to prepare nutritious and savoury dishes at
a very little cost without the aid of flesh meat…large number attended and a
very pleasant evening was spent.'

Meetings at Chapman’s were invariably fun and the Liverpool
Mercury typically observed that an 1896 meeting of the LVS featured 'a
programme of music' and 'concluded with an amusing ventriloquial sketch.' At
another visit by the Society in February 1897; “After a sumptuous vegetarian
repast, the company was entertained by an exhibition of Mrs Jarley’s Living
Waxworks…The figures comprised 17 characters, representative of ancient and
modern life and by their action when wound up, combined with the humorous
description of their history by Mrs Jarley and her son, Mr Ebenezer Jarley,
formed the source of endless merriment”!

The restaurant’s agreeable atmosphere doubtless contributed
to the 'Lancashire and Cheshire Beekeepers Association’s' peaceful resolution
of the tricky issue of their proposed 'split'. Having been overwhelmed by their
own success, the bee keepers convened at 'Chapmans' and happily agreed to form
independent 'Lancashire' and 'Cheshire' County Associations to ensure their
respective administrations remained small and friendly.

Chapman’s was also a popular venue with chess-players and
the Mercury staged its annual Chess Trophy Competition there, 'Players will
oblige by bringing their men with them: boards will be provided…Chess players
who wish to win the trophy should try Chapman’s tea and coffee; an excellent 6d
afternoon tea is always available.'

In 1894 the newspaper reported on Chapman’s pioneering of,
'Dress Reform in Liverpool'. 'Mr W H Chapman, who occupied the chair was
attired in one of the reform dresses sketched by the lecturer, Miss
Hope-Hoskins. It consisted of Irish tweed jacket and knickerbockers, made of
pure, undyed wool, Jaegar collar, cellular underclothing, sandals and straw hat
of novel construction… Her motto was Fashion without folly and elegance without
extravagance… An interesting discussion followed and the lecturer was cordially
thanked at the close of the meeting.'

'Rational Dress' sat comfortably alongside more spiritual
concerns at Chapman’s and the venue occasionally hosted 'Gatherings' of the
'Liverpool and Birkenhead' apostles of the 'Light and Reason' movement of
working class philosopher-poet, James Allen (1864-1912). Despite his
eclecticism William’s personal politics remained irreducibly anarchist, never
ossifying into Marxism nor dissolving into Labourism.

Chapman first tried to attract interest in the idea of
starting a Socialist League branch in Liverpool in May 1889 but despite
repeated appeals in Commonweal (on sale in the restaurant) it was months before
there was enough response to convene a meeting at the restaurant on 17th
September. William’s son Edward was appointed Secretary of the group that was
constituted as an independent 'Liverpool Socialist Society (LSS)' rather than a
branch of the Socialist League. This suggests some recruits weren’t entirely comfortable with
the Socialist League’s anti-parliamentary approach but this didn’t preclude comradely
cooperation. On the evening of October 1st Edward led a discussion which
concluded with the members agreeing 'to commence work of a public character
early in November'.

By the end of the year LSS was confident enough to invite
'delegates and friends from societies in Lancashire and adjoining counties to a
conference to discuss the desirability of united action.' On the 11 January
1890 the conference took place at Stanley Street. 'Delegates were present from
Sheffield, Salford, Blackburn, Rochdale and Liverpool…Comrade W H Chapman
proposed, “That in the opinion of this conference it is desirable to form a
Union of the North-Western Counties Socialists".' This was passed with Edward
Chapman appointed acting secretary of the Union. It was further agreed to draw
up a list of willing public speakers to facilitate the organisation of
propaganda. 'At a later hour a conversazione was held, at which a number of
pieces of vocal and instrumental music were rendered by members and friends and
a most enjoyable evening was spent. W H Chapman superintended the arrangements
for refreshments. On Sunday we held two open-air meetings.'

The following month both William and Edward debated with
members of Liverpool’s Rathbone Literary Club, 'Is Socialism or complete
Individualism likely to be the ultimate goal of human development?' The
Chapman’s proposed the former whilst local Tolstoyan anarchist John Coleman
Kenworthy (a future biography) demolished the argument of one of their
opponents.

With support from comrades William was able to organise
weekly outdoor Sunday morning (11.30am) lectures at the Mersey landing stage as
well as indoor Tuesday night meetings at the restaurant. The LSS maintained its
unsectarian approach, including Fabians like the aptly named Hubert Bland in
its programme. In March William addressed a good crowd there, 'Numbers of dock
strikers were present and applauded frequently.' At the end of the month the
LSS were proud to unfurl their new flag before a landing stage audience
gathered to listen to a lecture from Edward Carpenter on, 'The Breakdown of Our
Industrial System'.

On Sunday 13 April 1890 'afternoon and evening, comrade
William Morris lectured to good audiences at Rodney Hall on, The Development of
Modern Society and,The Social Outlook'.Chapman had expected Morris the previous November but he evidently
proved worth waiting for as, 'papers and literature to the amount of £2 9s were
disposed of.' Morris’ Liverpool lectures fused the ideas of Ruskin and Marx
with a dash of his own interpretation of Medievalism and were subsequently
published in that summer’s 'Commonweal'.

Chapman and Samuel Reeves were regular Sunday lecturers and
on Sunday 11 May they were joined on the landing stage by 'celebrity' anarchist
Charles Mowbray who was on a speaking tour of Lancashireat the time. The following Sunday William’s
son, Edward, reported that when the LSS group arrived at the landing stage ,
'we found it occupied by a party of religionists from the YMCA who coolly told
us to find another stand. We determined to move them' and so whilst our speaker
did his best, 'the rest of us made such a noise by selling the Commonweal and
Justice and reading from the former that we eventually upset them…Thanks to the
Christian intruders we had the largest meeting yet held.'

Significantly, in May 1890 LSS donated 3s 8d to the
Commonweal Guarantee Fund suggesting that the group was both financially secure
and generally sympathetic to the anti-parliamentary politics of the SL. Even
more significant was the decision to delegate William Chapman to the
forthcoming sixth Annual SL Conference in London. Held at the Communist Club,
Tottenham Court Road, Chapman was elected to Chair the conference by the other
fourteen delegates that included William Morris as well as anarchists Charles
Mowbray, Max Nettlau, David Nicoll, James Tochatti, Frank Kitz, William Wess
and Sam Mainwaring. 'When tea was over Mrs Tochatti sang a few revolutionary airs...Comrade
Coulon (CD: a police spy!) gave La Carmagnole in French. In the evening the
hall was filled with comrades who passed a very agreeable evening. The more
enthusiastic carried on the festivities till the dawn of the day.'

The following Sunday found Chapman singing revolutionary
songs on the Liverpool landing stage; 'The YMCA people again occupying our
usual stand. We, however, took up our position back to back with them. While
they sang hymns we sang the Marseillaise …the audience giving three hearty
cheers for the social revolution.' In June both Chapman senior (William) and
junior (Edward) actively supported the successful strike of Liverpool
tailoresses, addressing and encouraging the women and collecting monies and
administering the strike fund.

When the Trade Union movement held its twenty-third Congress
in Hope Hall, Liverpool on September 1, Chapman issued a general invitation to
any socialist attending to drop in at Stanley Street for a bit of comradely
support for the union movement was generally still saturated with Liberalism.

Around this time
William moved his restaurant a little way along Dale Street to occupy the
commodious “Percy Buildings, Eberle Street” (now a gay bar with 'Liverpool
Artists’ Club' upstairs). The LSS moved with him, subsequently holding its
weekly indoor meeting at Eberle Street every Tuesday at 8pm. From these new
spacious premises William Chapman also published revolutionary propaganda
leaflets (“6d per 100 or 4s 6d per 1,000”). He composed a satirical, “STRIKE! POLICEMAN,
STRIKE!”, song, to be sung to the tune of “Wait for the Wagon”.

“O STRIKE! Blue Peelers boldly.

And quit yourself like men;

Protect no more the robber class,

But leave them in their den.”

The song included a repeated four line, 'Strike down the
Tyrants!' chorus as well as nine further verses.

Unfortunately Chapman’s dynamic campaigning for the SL
wasn’t replicated down south. As the LSS successfully promoted an inclusive,
non-sectarian anti-parliamentary politics the London anarchists around
Commonweal went the other way, effectively alienating first William Morris and
then most of its other non-insurrectionary supporters. By the end of 1890
Commonweal was in trouble and the SL was collapsing as a national organisation.
LSS continued but as the appeal of the SL shrunk, Chapman’s politics appeared
less viable to sympathetic unaligned socialists who began to drift ever closer
to state-socialism.

Chapman sought encouragement from anarchist comrades in
Sheffield in both 1890 and 1891 and mounted the soap box on both occasions but
Sheffield soon followed London and fell under the influence of exaggerated
class-war rhetoric. Having created havoc in Sheffield, manically militant
anarchist John Creaghe decided to move on in November 1891 and ominously
announced, 'I may be able to do something here in Liverpool'! After writing off
William Chapman as 'an academic Anarchist' Creaghe, fortunately, soon moved on
againleaving LSS intact but diminished.

In March 1892 'Mr Chas E Dodd read a paper before the
Liverpool Socialist Society at their rooms, Percy Buildings, Eberle Street on
The Socialist Way Out of Darkest England'.It was a depressingly statist presentation. The very same month the
Liverpool Mercury informed correspondent 'A.F’.', 'There is no branch of the
Fabian Socialist Society in Liverpool, two attempts to start one having failed.
For information about the Liverpool Socialist Society apply to Mr Chapman,
Eberle Street.''A.F.' wouldn’t have long to wait for long-time SLL activist
Samuel Reeves was about to take over as Secretary of the LSS and assert himself
as an enthusiastically parliamentary Fabian. The Chapmans didn’t abandon
anarchism but their libertarian influence was soon swamped by a rising tide of
servile state-socialist Labourism. In October 1893 Blackburn journalist Jesse
Quail reflected on the transformation, 'In Liverpool there was a local
independent Socialist Society, but it dissolved itself some eighteen months ago
and its members joined the Liverpool Fabian Society, which was then formed.'

In 1893, both Chapmans made substantial donations to support
anarchist Christopher Davis, imprisoned for smashing a Birmingham jeweller’s
window and scattering valuables across the pavement as a protest against
poverty and unemployment. Despite the disappointment of the LSS William
continued to supply practical as well as political support to the impoverished
and in a period of economic depression in February 1895, 'During the past week
about 100 free breakfasts have been provided daily at Chapman’s Vegetarian
Restaurant but…it is Mr Chapman’s wish to provide two meals per day and he
therefore begs to state that assistance, either goods or money, will be gladly
received at 6 Percy Buildings, Eberle Street.'

Chapman helped local workers organise and in December 1895 his
restaurant hosted a meeting aimed at establishing a branch of the 'National
Clerks Association…After a discussion the nucleus of a branch of the NCA was
formed and the members arranged to meet in the same room on Friday evening
next.'

Cultural and political alternatives continued to flourish at
William’s restaurant but it was lean years for Liverpool anarchism that would
only reignite in the run-up to World War One and by then Chapman was no
more.

Beneath the headline, 'FERRY-BOAT MYSTERY', in January 1910
newspapers reported that, 'The Wallasey police are endeavouring to solve the
mystery connected with the disappearance of Mr William Hensby Chapman of
Liverpool, who kept a vegetarian restaurant. He has been missing since Tuesday and
was last seen on board a ferry-boat at New Brighton. There were few passengers
on the steamer, the night was dark and he was not observed to land either at
Egremont or Liverpool. Subsequently a coat was found on the boat. Attached to
it was a paper on which was written, Adieu Chapman. Mr Chapman was 75 years of
age.'

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

'I consider that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Patricia Gallan, Steve Rodhouse and Kenny McDonald should tender their resignations from the Metropolitan Police Service forthwith.'

This came as Scotland Yard's £3million Operation Midland finally came to an end.

For over a year Mr Proctor, 69, has strenuously denied historical allegations that he was part of a VIP paedophile ring that murdered three boys.

The former member for Basildon and Billericay was told that police would be taking no further action against him, and called for a public inquiry into Operation Midland, the probe that was sparked by the allegations.

The decision to clear Mr Proctor is a humiliating blow for the Met. police, who had previously described his accuser’s allegations as ‘credible and true’.

It is also a shock to those MPs who have conducted a witch-hunt against Proctor and others.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Proctor said:

'I have been advised that the Metropolitan Police Service have informed my solicitors that they intend to take no further action with regard to my involvement with Operation Midland' .

'I wish to make a short statement. I will make a longer one on the publication of my book “Credible and True. The Political and Personal Memoir of K. Harvey Proctor” on Tuesday, 29th March 2016.

'I believe Operation Midland should now be the subject of a truly independent public inquiry.'I consider that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Patricia Gallan, Steve Rodhouse and Kenny McDonald should tender their resignations from the Metropolitan Police Service forthwith.'

In another statement Mr. Proctor has had much to say about some Labour MPs: 'Those
Labour Members of Parliament who have misused parliamentary privilege and their
special position on these matters should apologise. They have behaved
disgracefully, especially attacking dead parliamentarians who cannot defend
themselves and others and they should make amends. They are welcome to sue me
for libel. In particular, Mr Tom Watson, M.P. should state, outside the
protection of the House of Commons, the names of ex Ministers and ex M.P.s who
he feels are part of the so called alleged Westminster rent boy ring.'

For this he was criticised by the campaigner, Ian Pace, and earlier this week on a left-wing Blog which declared:'Proctor is maliciously trying to blame Watson. That may raise a few eyebrows, but it must be remembered that Proctor was not the most sympathetic character to grace the Commons: his interests included being chairman of the right-wing Monday Club's "Immigration and repatriation committee". Yes, "repatriation".'The Blog suggested Proctor may have been bias against Watson and the Labour Party, but this is undermined by what Mr. Proctor has had to say about the Tory Home Secretary, Theresa May: ‘If
Theresa May was not so interested as to how she could achieve the future
leadership of the Conservative Party and was in authoritative charge of the
Home Office and its responsibilities, she would have held the Metropolitan
Police Service to account for their daily abuses of trashing human rights.’
Harvey Proctor further suggested the Home Secretary should ‘consider her position’.Last night, the Home Office refused to comment on what Mr. Proctor had had to say.From the position of someone who believes in justice and decency, Mr. Proctor's right-wing political views ought to be irrelevant to what has been happening with regard to what looks like a witch-hunt by some MPs and some elements of the media. It is typical of some on the left to stoop to evoking these kind of things but it suggests a kind of lazy intellectual bankruptcy.For Northern Voices based in the town of Rochdale where a crude opportunism, and some would say corrupt politics, has prevailed for almost a decade, Harvey Proctor's stand on this matter has been a breath of fresh air.

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

The next hearing at the High Court blacklisting litigation is Thursday 7th April.

Blacklist Support Group (BSG) stance is the same as always. We want to see the directors of the multinational companies that orchestrated this human rights scandal to give evidence in the High Court under oath. Justice demands that however rich and powerful, individuals guilty of wrong doing be called to account. Whatever the outcome in the trial, BSG will continue the fight to expose the full extent of the blacklisting conspiracy in every avenue available to us: Legally - Politically - Industrially

2. Pitchford public inquiry

Blacklist Support Group and a number of blacklisted activists have been granted 'core participant' status in the public inquiry into undercover police spying on activists. On Tuesday & Wednesday this week the Pitchford inquiry has spent 2 days debating the policy of 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' by the Metropolitan Police. NCND means they refuse to answer any questions about undercover police officers whatsoever even when the officers has self identified themselves in the media! The police want to be allowed to adopt this position throughout the entire public inquiry. As you can imagine, there was a lot of opposition.

NCND is a deliberate wall of silence erected by the police to cover up their wrong doing. NCND has no legal basis, it is simply a recent policy decision by the police. Blacklist Support Group along with the other non-state core participants demand that all the cover names of the undercover police from the political spying units are released along with a list of the campaigns they infiltrated and inquiry hearings should be heard in public. Some of the women and others who have been abuse and had their human rights violated are fully entitled to anonymity but the police officers involved in wrong doing should not be allowed to get away scot free without any public scrutiny. If NCND is allowed to stand, it will make a mockery of the entire public inquiry.

Helen Steel was the only activist to make a submission - the star of the entire 2 days. The judgement is excepted in a few weeks.

LAST August, Harvey Proctor courageously sacrificed his anonymity in order to expose what he evidently considered an abuse of process in the way that accusations of child abuse and being a party to murder had been investigated. Yesterday he took the fight literally to Scotland Yard's door by holding a second press conference about the affair just a few metres away at St Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster.

But the most interesting thing he had to say was not about the accusations or the police investigation, but about the public inquiry into historical child abuse and a separate judge-led probe into how Scotland Yard dealt with claims against public figures.

He said, 'The outcome of these two fake inquiries will be a whitewash and a cover-up and a deliberate exercise in kicking the issue into the long grass until the architects of the scandal have moved on to collect their pensions.'
The 'overarching' Goddard inquiry will probably be taking evidence for the next five years according to the most optimistic predictions and up to ten years if we believe the most pessimistic. It has been suggested that to digest the material collected and to write the final report will take a further three years.
If these predictions are reasonably accurate the results of an inquiry announced in 2014 will become available in 2023 or even as late as 2028. That is very 'long grass' indeed.
The Garnham inquiry was established by Rochdale council in 2014 to look at the allegations against Cyril Smith relating to Cambridge House which date from the 1960s, and were exclusively revealed in the Rochdale Alternative Paper in 1979 (RAP), and the allegations of abuse at Knowl View special school which were first publicly aired in 1995. Both were 'rediscovered' by Simon Danczuk sometime after 2012 and presented in a garbled form in his book 'Smile for the Camera'. The report of the inquiry was due to be available by the end of July 2014.
But recently the Garnham inquiry was abandoned and seemingly subsumed into the Goodard inquiry which on the most optimistic assumptions will nor report until 2023. Which will be some sixty years after Cyril Smith's activities at Cambridge House and by which time the men on the receiving end of his attentions will be approaching eighty.
It won't be quite so long in the case of Knowl View; just about thirty five years. But there is a 'sting in the tail' in the story of Knowl View. When this story was aired in 1995 there were claims of a 'cover up' by Rochdale council. Such a 'cover up' could only have taken place between 1991 when Aids worker Phil Shepherd reported on the high levels of sexual activity between the boys, and 1994 when the school closed. The two council leaders during this time were Richard Farnell and Paul Rowan. 'Smile for the Camera' has ten pages devoted to Knowl View. And Cyril Smith's name is very prominent on seven of them. There is certainly little emphasis on the claims of a 'cover up'. Are we being carefully steered away from the very idea of a 'cover up'?
As I am more inclined to think in terms of 'cock up' not 'cover up' such thoughts had never occurred to me until idly flicking through the acknowledgements in Danczuk's book a couple of days ago I came across the name of the same Richard Farnell who was being thanked for allowing himself to be interviewed. Presumably the question of a 'cover up' about the goings on at Knowl View was never raised.

Thursday, 24 March 2016

'The New Town Hall is the central building. The fresh nap was not yet worn off it; and of course; it’s authorities were anxious to preserve it’s pristine Corinthian beauty from the condemnations of 'the unwashed'.. At the “Free Exhibition” of the models for the Peel monument, a notice was posted at the entrance warning visitors that; “Persons in clogs would not be admitted'

TWO things spring to mind after reading the recent media expose of Councillors expenses 'Councillors received over £700k in allowances'.Firstly it is obvious to all that despite “rubber-stamping” £37 million pounds in cuts to vital front line public services only a few weeks ago not a single one of the Councillors present at the Budget fixing meeting at the town Hall proposed a reduction to their expenses as a means of saving our 'cash strapped' council public money.

A strange oversight - maybe it will be on the Agenda at the next Town Hall Budget meeting ?

Our councillors may not be aware of the popular public anger that the revelation they collectively 'received over £700k in allowances' has caused - some are simply out of touch some simply don't even care but let me suggest one possible remedy - lets propose a £1000 a year expenses reduction from each of our hard working democratic representatives at the Town Hall to their lucrative - some would argue ludicrous - expenses package.

This single act of voluntary generosity on their part would at least show a personal public commitment to standing with the poor & vulnerable of the Borough who's services are about to be reduced to dangerous and socially damaging levels.

The citizens of Rochdale would be reassured that at least our Councillors and those who foot their expenses are “all in it together “ ~ whatever this cliché actually means in reality ?

We could at least feel assured that it was not just those in dire need who were shouldering all of the pain & none of the gain from Tory imposed austerity measures

This £1000 a year times sixty councillors would provide us with £60,000 a year that could be used to prevent one of the many services about to close down to lack of funding after the Town Hall budget recently -carried unanimously incidental by the very same Councillors receiving £700K a year in expenses !

A popular local vote , a vox populi, could then determine annually which struggling community centre, nursery, school, Adult Social Care , or vital front line elderly or homeless service should receive the £60,000 that year - a much fairer system than the staus quo one would have thought ?

Each Councillor can of course would be at liberty to nominate a possible worthy recipient from their own ward .There should be no shortage of contenders for them to pick from and such a 'Peoples Lottery' would at least offer the possibility of hope of vital longer term survival for services facing axing or collapsing and go a long way to reducing the public opprobrium they now face locally over their expenses ?

My second thought was that I like to consider myself reasonably politically informed so I did a mental list of all of the Councillors at Rochdale Council I could name from memory - I came up with a slightly miserable list of the "usual suspects " fifteen out of sixty - not a massive score, and certainly not a ringing endorsement of our local councillors political engagement or personal profiles.

Now to be sure there are a number of excellent hardworking & tireless Councillors who are involved in local politics solely for what they can give to our town rather than for what they can wring out of our local taxpayers - I have no beef whatsoever with them , nor indeed do most voters - the remainder are generally viewed as bone-idle parasitical free loaders on the local body politic who in some instances have never spoken at Council Meeting., except to ask where they sign on their expenses claim form, or raised an issue of local concern to their constituents since being elected to office.

In such financially straightened times we need performance related pay introducing immediately , a minimum number of mandatory weekly surgeries, public meetings and local ward involvement meetings at ward level for each and every Councillor .

The IT technology now exists to ensure that when a constituents e-mails are ignored for lets say for example three months that the e-mails from long suffering ward constituents can be flagged up on a Public Forum so we can all see which ward councillors actually bother to do their jobs and reply to electronic lobbying - or the majority who simply ignore it all together out of laziness or just out of stupidity.

Lets also see as well the mandatory requirement to speak at any meeting they attend , no more turning up claiming the expenses then clearing off post haste without contributing to the business in hand ,and for Councillors to have a mandatory a minimum number of motions put to Full Council per year and at the very least on online weekly diary of local ward engagements , meetings attended and issues addressed by each individual councillor.

This could be done at almost zero cost to the tax payer on the existing Rochdale Council web page.

It beggars belief that some of our councillors are entitled to any expenses at all - for the vast majority of us if we don't do the job we don't get paid our wages.

These all but anonymous councillors are all so clearly grafting away hammer & tong 24/7 for the good of our town and their constituents that they simply never have the chance to escape into daylight from the dimmer recesses of the Town Hall where they are forever engaged in furthering the common good for our town?

This is a game readers can play at home try listing more than fifteen Rochdale Councillors off the top of your head .

I struggled with this for half an hour ,but there are no hard and fast rules to time or number of attempts allowed per player.

At the end of the game try a quick scan of on the Councils home page at those Councillors you couldn't name or like me have never even heard of and ask yourself are the ones you couldn't name worth anything at all let alone '£700 K a year in expenses' given their near zero political profiles ? No doubt Readers can form their own opinion on value for money as well as , or indeed far better , than I can ?

IN September of last year the sociologist, Professor Frank Furedi, predicted that Operation Midland would soon collapse because it had become so discredited. It turns out that his prediction of its early demise was a bit premature, but on Monday it finally did.

Whilst some of the people subject to investigation are dead or have left others to comment on their behalf Harvey Proctor, who was the last person to be told he was no longer being investigated, was more forthright saying:'I consider that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Patricia Gallan, Steve Rodhouse and Kenny McDonald should tender their resignations from the Metropolitan police service forthwith.'

He also called for his accuser, 'Nick', and the news website Exaro, which published or sold stories based on many of his claims, to be prosecuted, and said that MPs including Tom Watson, Zac Goldsmith and John Mann, who made public comments that pre-empted the end of the inquiry, should apologise on the floor of the House of Commons.

It is not difficult to understand Proctor's sense of outrage. At a news conference last August, Proctor was highly critical of the police over the way they had conducted their investigation, nor why he would call for Exaro to be prosecuted.

'Either Exaro actually has stumbled across the story of the century, or it has been muckraking on a grand scale, exploiting a possibly vulnerable “witness” and exposing innocent people and their families to a grotesque and seemingly endless trial by internet. Mr Proctor may or may not be right that Leon Brittan was “driven to his death” by the campaign against him, but anyone relentlessly, anonymously and falsely accused of rape, paedophilia and child sex murder might well feel that death was a relatively easy option.'

When Proctor's home, a grace and favour house at Belvoir Castle, was raided in March 2015 the news was leaked to Exaro. As a result of this raid Proctor lost both his home and his job. That this 'tip off' came from the police themselves is suggested by both the wording used and the fact that in the quote below which appeared on 14 September 2015 Exaro had other information that could only have come from a police source.
'The following March, Exaro revealed that Operation Midland was raiding Proctor’s house, sparking much media coverage. We still held back from reporting that police were investigating allegations of murder by Proctor, who revealed that himself later.'

If there was some form of collusion between the police and Exaro this is can only fuel Proctor's sense of outrage at how he was treated because he is surely right that Exaro profited from publishing Nick's stories and the fallout from them.
One MP whose name was not mentioned by Proctor is Simon Danczuk. Named (and shamed) or not, Danczuk was up to his neck in promoting the idea of a 'high level' conspiracy protecting paedophiles. He told Exaro on 3 June 2014:'As we have seen from the story that we told about Cyril Smith, there was a network at the highest level that was out to protect him at every turn.'
And on 27 November 2014 Exaro carried, 'I can assure everybody that Zac Goldsmith,Tom Watson and Simon Danczuk are very concerned to get to the real truth behind such a disturbing scandal that has remained hidden for decades.'

Now Simon is right in calling what he and Matthew Baker wrote about Cyril Smith 'a story'; as in 'fairy story' that is. These authors produce not a shred of evidence that there was any kind of network protecting Smith. This story is just a figment of their over active imagination designed to 'spice up' an otherwise pretty thin story about Smith spanking young men at Cambridge House in the 1960s. A story which had been published in Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) in 1979. Ask Danczuk to tell you how many men who claimed to have been abused by Smith he interviewed before writing the book and he refuses to tell you.

What is remarkable is that anyone is still prepared to take him seriously. Whilst running a headline of 'Humiliation of the Yard. After 16-month probe into claims of VIP abuse, police concede there's not a scrap of evidence', and a double page spread inside the paper Tuesday's Daily Mail quoted Danczuk as saying that 'a Westminster network should not be dismissed'.

As Barrister Blogger said in a recent column:'Nick will continue to lead his life in obscurity, feted as a hero by some. His therapists will continue to “treat” other people with mental health problems. Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe will continue to preside over the Metropolitan Police and, with Hogan-Howe’s apparent insouciance Kenny McDonald will continue as a senior police officer happily saying one thing while thinking something completely different. Mark Watts, the Editor of Exaro News will eventually come up with some slippery justification for his organisation’s discreditable behaviour over the past two years. The internet conspiracists will work themselves into another lather of hatred.'

And meanwhile Simon Danczuk will continue to promote himself as an expert on child abuse.

This is the diary of a man of our times. Any resemblance to anyone living is, of course, purely coincidental.

Thursday 24th March 2016

I have decided how best to use my magnificence of mind and body for the benefit of others. I shall run a long distance race. Me partaking in such an event will be a fine way to earn money for the less fortunate. Then again, compared to ME, everyone is unfortunate!

There will of course be the need to fund my first class travel, masseuse (or two), 5 star hotel and sundry costs but my expenses will assist. My photographers will be strategically placed en route to take pictures of me for my admiring populace to see in the papers, attracting my usual percentage of course. Best of all, this is one photo opportunity the big man won’t be able to usurp – he wouldn’t manage ten yards!

The charity I have chosen is Children Against Sexting Harassment. Don’t you feel appalled by those old ne’er do well’s who get their kicks sending lewd messages to fragile young ladies? I know I am. In order to help this most worthy of causes, please send your cheques, for as much as you can afford, or more, made payable to C A S H (or to Mr Dale) to my HQ.

I can’t seem to attract high profile (that is paid) publicity. The photographer didn’t turn up to capture my antics the other night in the pub, not that I can remember much. What else can I do to get a reaction, run naked around the town hall? If I did I should inevitably be admired, and a bit more perhaps!

Opportunities for profitable activity are a bit thin on the ground at present. Must get my autobiography moving, my man seems a little apathetic, and nervous these days. He sees doom and gloom but I am invincible, and why shouldn’t I be, a man of my stature and importance. What I need is to get in with a construction firm and ‘build’ my income! A joke (my man made that up for me)! Pass me my hard hat, my business card and my wallet for filling up in return for my services!

Had a long distance flight, first class of course, to do a bit of business. I do like the stewardesses and they clearly liked me as they leaned over to serve ME.

The fact that Tory Chancellor Osborne is now being portrayed as to the right of Iain Duncan Smith Smith should give no one any comfort. It's somewhat akin to saying that Burke was slightly nicer than fellow body snatcher Hare. As the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) ,one of the largest trade unions in the UK, with about 200,000 members throughout the civil service and government agencies, making us the UK’s largest civil service trade union rightly points out :'Hand-wringing can not erase from our memories the policies he has relentlessly pursued, including the benefits cap, the bedroom tax and cuts to support for sick and disabled people.Duncan Smith's resignation will be almost universally welcomed, particularly by DWP staff and the millions of people who have borne the brunt of his cruel policies.'He presided over years of suffering and surely ranks as the most hated work and pensions secretary in living memory, epitomising Tory arrogance and indifference to the effect of brutal cuts.'What does appear to be somewhat unusually lacking from the ongoing narrative seems to be the near meltdown of Iain Duncan Smiths flagship Universal Credit Project just before his hasty nightime scuttle overboard from his role as ships captain . As commentator Bernadette Meaden pointed out at the end of last week online at independent Christian political think tank Ekklesia :'On the day he resigned, the DWP lost a four year legal battle to keep the problems with Universal Credit secret. Mr. Duncan Smith's flagship project is in deep trouble, but until now we haven't been allowed to know quite how deep. Universal Credit may prove to have been a colossal waste of public money, and if it is abandoned, it would be a humiliation for Iain Duncan Smith. As one commentator pointed out two days ago, "the more IDS fights publication, the more it looks as if he has something to hide".'He may prefer not to be at the helm if his flagship crashes on to the rocks.'In addition the day before Mr Duncan Smith's resignation, Disability News Service revealed evidence that the DWP had dismissed concerns raised by a coroner under Rule 43, the “prevention of future deaths” process. The letter concerned the death of Stephen Carre, who had taken his own life after losing an appeal against being declared fit for work by the DWP without reference to information from his GP, his psychiatric nurse, or his psychiatrist. When we add to this toxic mix the independent research last year by public health experts from the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford which found that the Work Capability Assessments may have been associated with an additional 590 suicides. We know that other aspects of Welfare reform, like sanctions and the bedroom tax, have been associated with other people taking their own lives – it is obvious IDS has jumped ship well in advance of the rats !'The public health experts research from the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford found that every additional 10 000 people reassessed in each area was associated with an additional 6 suicides (95% CI 2 to 9), 2700 cases of reported mental health problems (95% CI 548 to 4840), and the prescribing of an additional 7020 antidepressant items (95% CI 3930 to 10100).' The reassessment process was associated with the greatest increases in these adverse mental health outcomes in the most deprived areas of the country, widening health inequalities – we all know to our cost exactly where Rochdale stands both in terms of 'deprivation' and 'widening health inequalities' from a series of independent reports and research documents over the past two years. This research concluded conclusively that :'The programme of reassessing people on disability benefits using the Work Capability Assessment was independently associated with an increase in suicides, self-reported mental health problems and antidepressant prescribing. This policy may have had serious adverse consequences for mental health in England, which could outweigh any benefits that arise from moving people off disability benefits.'The massive anger and growing public opposition to cuts to disability benefits has been reflected in the fact that more than 145,000 people have signed an emergency 38 Degrees petition in the last 24 hours calling for PIP cuts to be cancelled. Media campaigns manager Adam McNicholas, at 38 Degrees, said prolonging uncertainty over cuts was “cruel and unjust”, concluding that :'The political circus surrounding the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith should not overshadow the reality facing people who rely on this critical safety net.'This policy hasn’t yet been killed off - so the ongoing uncertainty for people who need Personal Independence Payment goes on.'

Concluding that : 'The British people have called for compassion - they’ve said it’s not good enough for the government to make excuses and kick this issue into the long grass. Prolonging the uncertainty is cruel and unjust. It’s time to bin this policy and this should be the first decision of the incoming secretary of state.' Further people should not fall for the tory spin that new Work And Pensions Secretary secretary Stephen Crabb is some kind of proto-proletarian 'horny handed son of toil'from the estates riding over the hill from the Valleys to rescue IDS's victims from the

'nasty party'.Even with a possible U-turn on ESA and Welfare - it will still be more of the same , more pain and no gain for ordinary working people and the most vulnerable in our communities who are paying directly for the failure of the banking class & the political elites who act as their apologists & facilitators as the tory austerity budget is being balanced on the backs of people in wheelchairs and those who are unable to walk unaided without sticks or callipers. A weekend of Tory infighting saw Mr Duncan Smith condemn George Osborne's 'arbitrary' cap on welfare spending and obsession with 'short-term savings'. IDS said the chancellor had targeted cuts at the poor because they 'don’t vote' Conservative anyway. This is - it should be remembered - the very same Iain Duncan Smith who once infamously said he could live off £53 pounds a week : then resolutley ignored the three hundred thousand plus online petition from the British people demanding that he prove he could do just that. They will continue not to 'vote Conservative anyway' and the tory party will continue to view them as 'un-people' not deserving of consideration. So it will be interesting indeed to see how Stephen Crabb reacts when he realises that he's been set up as a convenient political 'patsy' to take the rap for Duncan Smiths abject failure on the fast collapsing Universal Credit. Though his own track record on cuts to disability benefits is by no means an unblemished one. Indeed as Disabled People Against the Cuts : DPAC helpfully point out today:'Besides Mencap, Stephen Crabb appears to be associated with a Christian advocacy group named CARE (Christian Action Research & Education) http://www.care.org.uk, who claim that their vision is “to see a society that has a greater regard for human dignity and increasingly reflects God’s grace and truth through public policy, media and local practical involvement with vulnerable people.'Crabb’s voting history flies in the face of what they are claiming to stand for, and they want to think carefully about associating themselves with a man who is willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable in society. I dare say Christ would not be very impressed .'Incidentally DPAC list those other MP's who voted for cuts to ESA from all political parties and their campaign page : “Force disability charities to sever links with MP's who voted for #ESA Cut “ appears to already have claimed the scalps of Tory MPs Zac Goldsmith who voted for the ESA cut while being a Patron of disability charity Richmond Aid , the charity released a statement condemning him for voting for the cut . Likewise Peter Bottomley MP, Nick Gibb MP and Tim Loughton MP, all voted repeatedly for the cut to ESA. All three of them are also Vice Presidents of the Coastal West Sussex branch of Mind (CWSM). DPAC point out that :'Mind was contacted, and a petition was started and within a day –CWSM had issued a statement to say that they were going to “discuss the position of the three MPs at the next board meeting".'The hypocrisy of some members of parliament standing on boards & charities with all the kudos such roles entail whilst voting in favour of cuts to benefits for disabled & vulnerable people is truly staggering to cite just a few shocking examples of double standards we have :Stephen Crabb MP Patron, Pembrokeshire MENCAP. Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP Patron, Prostate Cancer Charity,& Patron, MS Action. Esther McVey , Patron, Wirral Holistic Cancer Care, & ,Patron, Full of Life. Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP Patron, Richmond MENCAP. Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP Patron, Herts Action on Disability. Rt Hon David Cameron MP Patron, Cancer Research UK Relay for Life, Witney ,Patron, Versus Cancer , Patron, Lawrence Home Nursing Team, Patron, Motability & Patron, Trips, Outings and Activities for the Learning Disabled. Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP Patron, Resolve Alcohol and Drugs Charity . Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP Patron, Isabel Hospice & Patron, Herts Action on Disability. Rt Hon William Hague MP President, Northallerton & the Dales Mencap Society. Rt Hon William Hague MP Vice President, Yorkshire and the Humber Muscle Group. Rt Hon Theresa May MP Patron, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society. So to conclude this Budget fiasco is a “tory smoke & mirrors “ black op .The Tory party are clearly more moved by the plight of a few hundred of their own MP's on Europe than the plight of Britain’s millions of poor & vulnerable .Their personal priorities are self evident , Meanwhile the verdict is out on our new Work And Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb , everyone deserves a chance – even a tory ! - however as TheyWorkForYou point out his voting record in the House on Welfare and Benefits can be found at :

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11768/stephen_crabb/preseli_pembrokeshire/votes is as follows:Consistently voted for reducing housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (which Labour describe as the "bedroom tax"). Consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices. Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability. Consistently voted for making local councils responsible for helping those in financial need afford their council tax and reducing the amount spent on such support. Consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits. Almost always voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed. In Act 1 , Scene 2 ,of Shakespeare’s , 'The Tragedy of Julius Caesar' the Soothsayer tells Caesar before his political comeuppance to'Beware the ides of March' .If you'll allow me for a second an authors conceit of altering the Great Bards words slightly we all need to,

'Beware the IDS of March'for it's not just the Bullingdon Club hooray Henry’s & Henrietta of Cameron, Osborne & May who need to watch their backs from IDS – his cancerous Universal Credit is so embedded & enshrined in Britain’s Welfare State & Benefits System that any possible future removal of this toxic tumour could now kill the patient without the right checks and balances being put in place. He may well have jumped ship cowardly refusing to go down with his ship as is the Captains usual duty but he's left the ships tiller entangled with such a intractable ,mangled & proverbial Gordian Knott of such rabid right wing ideologically driven policies that it might well prove impossible to untangle the helm and set a new saner course before the whole Welfare System crashes on to the rocks – and for anyone totally dependent on state benefits as so very many are in Rochdale that's a major problem for us all should that system collapse into administrative chaos on the non too distant horizon.

YESTERDAY what the an editorial in today's Daily Mail describes as 'the grotesque Scotland Yard witch-hunt known as Operation Midland' has now been officially closed down.
The Daily Mail's editor concludes his editorial with the following noble sentiments:'The Met has shown utter contempt for the inalienable right of everyone to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and its arrogant insistence that its officers didn't do anything wrong is simply an affront to justice.'
The trouble is that there is a cottage industry that has grown up that is dedicated to promoting the assumption that alleged victims should always be believed prior to the rigorous testing of their evidence. Even this morning fears were being voiced that if the police are too circumspect about allegations that it may discourage other victims from coming forward.

Monday, 21 March 2016

ON ROCHDALEonline on the 8th,
June 2014,
it was reported that an 'independent
inquiry (under Neil Garnham QC) into the role of Rochdale Council is due to report at the end of July.'

That was the inquiry that last week Rochdale Council has just binned or otherwise disposed of by merging into the overarching Goddard inquiry, that Lord Justice Wolf in yesterday's Sunday Mail said has become so unwieldy that he feared it may undermine the British justice system: the Goddard inquiry is expected to take five years in its perambulations and then more time before it is published.

When the local independent inquiry of Neil Garnham QC was set up in 2014, the Rochdale Council leader, Richard Farnell, stoutly declared:

'Until such time as the Review is finalised I am legally advised that, as Leader of the Council, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further [and that]the review is very important to the Council and Rochdale and the Inquiry should be allowed to get on with its job without interference from politicians'

It was noticeable that Council Farnell last week left it to his deputy to announce that this local review by Neil Garnham had been now sidelined and swallowed up by the seemingly eternal Goddard inquiry.

The Big Man and Ginge are getting on my nerves, they should be careful about stories that might get into the papers! They tell me I need to go round my serfs, they call them my flock, dispensing my words. Be humble? Bah humbug. I will do what I normally do. In a week where I have been wrongly maligned in my view (which is the RIGHT view of course), here’s a tale….

The one I have picked was done for claiming too much in benefits. Thousands of pounds over a few years! The rules are quite clear. She was not honest and did not tell the truth! Outrageous! Had to pay the money back, plus costs. Quite right too! She was also given a suspended prison sentence, should have been banged up for me. This fraud should not be tolerated.

I am mortal, and occasionally an honest mistake is made in the busiest schedule any mortal has. This happens very rarely indeed. I mean, if the rules are so vague a man like ME can’t understand them, then the rules are clearly wrong. I even give recompense when the rules are wrong, how honest am I!!

Heard that there might be a job in London making sure this benefit malarkey gets sorted. Disgraceful that they get money they are not entitled to, unlike ME. I am perfect for the role of course, something I would be well suited to. Especially the increased earnings, chauffeur driven car etc. etc. Oh bugger, looks like the job has gone already, to some hatchet-man. Talk about ‘Jim will fix it’, they fixed his selection good style. I do have a begrudging admiration for how they have stitched it up though.